Northrop Grumman Corp. is expected to encounter little difficulty winning
regulatory approval of its proposed acquisition of TRW Inc., even though
the transaction will concentrate some critical aerospace and defense technologies
among fewer large players.

According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, the consensus
of some former Pentagon officials and various industry observers is that
there is no significant overlap of products and technologies, and that
the combination is more likely to stimulate rather than inhibit technology
innovation.

The Pathfinder-Plus aircraft, designed and built by AeroVironment Inc.,
transmitted hours of next-generation mobile voice, data and video services,
including high-definition television signals to handheld devices on the
ground. The tests were conducted over Kauai.

French President Jacques Chirac recently inaugurated a new factory in
southern France for the Airbus A380 superjumbo jeta building big
enough to hold 20 soccer fields, reported The Washington Post. The hall
in Blagnac, outside Toulouse, France, will be completed next year. Parts
for the 555-seat jet are to be manufactured at various Airbus sites around
Europe and will be transported by land and sea to the Blagnac assembly
hall.

Harris Corp. recently received a $1.7 billion, 15-year contract to upgrade
the Federal Aviation Administration's nationwide communications network.
With options, the deal is worth up to an estimated $3.5 billion, making
it the largest-ever contract announced by the Melbourne, Fla.based
communications-equipment maker, according to Florida Today. The announcement
resulted from nearly five years of work on the company's bid and followed
numerous delays, including an FAA review of the system's security measures
after the events of Sept. 11. The FAA did not provide details on why the
Harris-led team was chosen over its competitorsLockheed Martin Corp.
and WorldCom Inc., which provides the communications network currently
used by the agencyother than the Harris proposal represented the
best value for taxpayers.

Big decisions may loom at Pentagon

This fall, Pentagon budgeteers and the defense secretary will make the
most profound decisions on major acquisition programs since President Reagan's
first term 20 years ago, reports The Washington Times. The dynamics, however,
are greatly different in 2002 than they were in the 1980s, a decade which marked
the largest peacetime military buildup in U.S. history. The Pentagon will embark
on a major modernization campaign, reports the Times. But once-robust budgeting
will be pared back to meet two realities: The Defense Department will not get
the billions of dollars needed to buy every planned weapon system; and President
Bush wants to cancel some items in favor of more advanced systems that can better
counter 21st-century threats, such as terrorism. The Times, in its July 19 edition,
predicts the following scenarios: The Air Force F-22 stealth-fighter buy of
more than 300 jets will be cut to about 200. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for
the Air Force, Navy and Marines will also survive, but be scaled back. The Navy
already has said it does not need as many F-35s as it plans smaller carrier-based
squadrons. The new, bigger carrier, the CVNX, will be canceled. The Navy will
continue building Nimitz-class big-deck flattops. The Marine Corps V-22 Osprey
helicopter-fixed-wing hybrid will get one last chance at successful test fights.
If there is another mechanical failure crash or major test failure, Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld will cancel the Osprey in favor of troop-carrying
helicopters. Civilian budgeteers are likely to cancel the Army's Comanche, a
planned armed scout helicopter.